::::::::
By Kevin Stoda, a
relatively new Dad
The baby in this video is not my daughter, but she was like this from the earliest age. See video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW0kvF5mXHg
Two weeks ago, my daughter also fell down 3 stairs and got a boo-boo above her eye--which, like all the booms and bumps she has, she recovered from quickly.
Our daughter actually likes to go to the fridge and open the lower door to the freezer and whisk out an ice cube or two for her boom-boom. Note --she does this ice-thing even when she has no boom-boom, but she will pretend she went boom just so she can grab some ice cubes. When she does so, she puts the ice cube to her forehead above her eye and pretends to be hurt. Yep, she's an actress at age 21 months.
We know that climbing stairs is good for our daughter, but this daddy is getting warn out--as we live in a five story flat and there are 21 stairs between each floor. My daughter's record is somewhere around 250 stairs (up or down) in a single day. Now, I try to keep her between 100 and 150 stairs most days. Thank God that we have an elevator, too. (She likes to take that and push the buttons as a change of pace.)
Now, I have come across this older article (below) on stairs. I will share it with you and reread it (again and again)--as I have many more years of stair-climbing with my daughter ahead of me.
Baby steps up stairs for better brain health
by WARD
What are some of the baby steps we can all
take to increase our brain health? I have told you that simple exercise and exposing yourself to new things ( enriche d environment ) will improve your brain health in numerous ways. However, too many of us balk
at implanting either of these because we do not think we have the time and
energy to make the big commitment required to get results.
We get stuck into the thinking that big
changes both in size and volume are required to produce meaningful changes. But
you need to consider that anything is better than nothing. The research out
there supports this idea that small steps can make a difference.
Sure it is most likely that 45 minutes of
day of aerobic exercise might be the optimum level of exercise (at least most
bang for the buck) but other research shows benefits with just 12 minutes a day of
exercise . 12 measly minutes -- we all have that to spare. Take a slightly
longer walk to the bus, from the bus, go up and down several flights of stairs.
I have personally found that stair walking is a very simple and efficient way of building fitness. Don't take the elevator -- walk
the stairs. 
The next trick is to put in a few extra
trip up a set of stairs that are not required in your day to day life -- do it
for the sheer fun of it (plus the health benefits). I have seen so many people at
university where I work punch the elevator button to go up one floor -- yes one
floor. All ages including 18-22 year old undergraduates. It takes them
longer to get where they are going by the time the slow elevators transport
them than if they just went up the stairs which are ten steps away from the
elevator. Therefore, don't worry about going to the optimal level just start
with something.
Here are a few links
regarding stair climbing workout and benefits.
http://industrialtrekking.blogspot.com/2008/04/stair-climbing-workout.html
http://www.focused-on-fitness.com/aerobic/no-sweat-exercise-plan.php
h ttp://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/the-great-facts-about-stair-climbing-machines.html
http://fitness.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_stair_climbing_workout
http://www.backpacker.com/blogs/?category=stair%20climbing
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ap/pm/2000/000 00030/00000004/art00634
